Let me be up front and say that, for the most part, I’m not thrilled with the new World of Hyatt program, the replacement for the Hyatt Gold Passport program. With 60 nights required a year, and a limited footprint, it’s really tough to renew status, even for the most faithful of Hyatt loyalists.
My first stay as a Hyatt Globalist was hugely disappointing.
I had the chance to chat with an executive in the World of Hyatt program yesterday, and was given the opportunity to share my feedback (specifically on Globalist – top tier – status), as well as listen to some commentary on their end.
First, let me share my initial thoughts.
I miss the welcome amenity.
It may seem little, but I miss the 500 or 1,000 bonus points welcome amenity. Those added up quickly to help for free nights or points and cash stays. I rarely took the food and beverage amenity, save for maybe one time at the Grand Hyatt Tampa where the amenity was actually dinner with the club lounge closed. 🙂
No more points when the lounge is closed.
I’m really not sure why they took this away, but when the club lounge is closed, you traditionally got 2,500 points. I miss this, as there’s quite a few times when lounges were closed when I visited. Yes, I know you get full breakfast in the restaurant, but you also miss out on beverages through out the day, appetizers in the evening, and a place to sit and work.
Confusing suite upgrade policy.
It’s left up to the hotel’s interpretation on how they want to upgrade you, which is a huge issue in my opinion. I’ve had plenty of hotels under the old Hyatt Gold Passport program refuse to upgrade me to the best available non-suite room, claiming they didn’t need to, or that I could only be upgraded within my category room. Now throwing suites into the mix, it’s going to complicate things further as hotels find ways of excluding guests. Either make it standard policy or not – don’t leave it up to the hotels.
A general though: Make the benefits universal to all members.
One of the big gripes I have about the free parking benefit which is new to Globalist members is that…well…I rarely, if ever, park at hotels. A majority of the hotels I visit I can access by public transportation. Yes, there are exceptions to this, but the vast majority of properties I visit I never park at. So, to have a free parking benefit for me doesn’t benefit me. I’d rather see benefits that can be utilized by all members, rather than those that just drive in.
Now, their thoughts.
The Hyatt rep I spoke with was candid enough to share the top complaints they are getting about the new program, many of which may surprise you.
The two biggest complaints are…
No welcome amenity.
Ha, that is my gripe too. Apparently, this is the single biggest complaint about the new program and Globalist members. They miss the welcome amenity. To be fair, Marriott, Hilton and most other big chains do offer a welcome amenity, so for Hyatt not to, it seems strange, especially since this doesn’t cost the hotels much.
The parking isn’t useful.
Like me, many members are saying they aren’t able to utilize the parking benefit. Even when they are, there’s confusion over which properties have free parking via hotel-owned lots, and which don’t. I made the recommendation to World of Hyatt that they publish a list of properties with the free parking benefit.
Final Thoughts
So, funny enough, the two biggest complaints World of Hyatt is receiving so far are the same complaints I have. 🙂
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
From my conversations with Hyatt I have heard the number one complaint was the inability to earn elite status on a any stays basis rather than on nights alone. So, from 25 ‘stays’ to a MINIMUM of 60 Nights for everyone (except Lifetime status Globalists) in 2017 is a huge jump and understandably disconcerting to many. At the same time, I (like many) feel it was disingenuous and a slap in the face to many ‘Diamonds’ who made the effort to chase down Hyatt properties to stay at in their pursuit of top-tier status.
I am surprised that this (apparently) did not come up in your conversation; it certainly was acknowledged and commented on by many (on both sides of the table) I have encountered.
It’s interesting they mentioned your two complaints as the top ones. It makes sense. Losing those bonus points is a big deal. Especially now that you have to stay at so many hotels. That’s a lot of points off the table.
The new program is the worst hotel loyalty program I would say. I am a globalist too but wholy now shifted out of Hyatt, happy with SPG. The amenities, facilities, defenitely taken off, and higher qualification requirements even make it worse. But the new glitch for you to redeem free nights is clearly cheating – now the hotel may decide on when to give you free nights and what length you have to stay to earn it. I have close to 1.5 Lakh points, and am assuming they would not let me use it without paying them the cash. Unexpected changes, thankfully I took the decision to shift. Hyatt loses their loyalists. 10 Globalists – all friends of mine, chose someother program early in the year and we are all at the elite tier of SPG already and enjoying all the benefits the poor Hyatt Globalists miss today.
Guess what..?? Try Hyatt regency in green bay… Under the new system you can NEVER get a king bed with awards or points.. I tried every month as far out as the system allows and no dates for a king.. just double queens. I find this very discriminating for very tall customers who need a larger bed.
For me, it is the worst loyalty program ever.
I booked a stay for a year, I paid the full amount upfront. I am frequently consuming in the restaurants of the hotel. I claimed points and what is their answer.? The dollars you spent with us are not eligible!!!
It is like a joke…
Imagine, you are a membership with an airline, you book an economic class, you don’t earn points because economic class is not eligible, you must buy first class to earn points…
I will ban this brand from my mind….